Neutral + Modern Holiday Mantle Makeover

There's nothing more exciting than designing a space completely from scratch and surprising one of my clients with the completed look! This client wanted all new holiday decor for her mantle and trusted me completely to put together a design that she would love. I was inspired by the rest of her living room to keep the design simple + modern with lots of neutrals that would seamlessly blend in to the rest of her decor.

I was able to find most of the decorations at my favorite place, Target, which always has the best selection of unique, modern Christmas decor. I love the mix of more rustic materials (woodgrain, fresh greenery, and white-wash) with super glitzy and glam elements (like her starburst mirror, glittered trees, and mirrored snowflake garland). My favorite feature is the super modern layered garland: I topped a fresh pine garland (from Trader Joe's) with two different unique garlands from Target. I chose some simple wool and faux fur stockings too which I tucked into the garland off to one side.

I filled the rest of the mantle with a mixture of different mini trees, a distressed wood wreath, and white-washed deer. I usually play around with these arrangements to try to find the perfect balance on each side. On the ledge below the mantle I placed a gold metal basket filled with a boxwood wreath (also from Trader Joe's), another deer, and small tree off to one side. I love to use baskets on fireplace ledges to help them look less bare. You can fill them a mixture of firewood, blankets, pinecones, or greenery. I also added a few little touches to the shelves beside the fireplace to keep the eye moving across the space (all those items are from Michael's).

I love the neutral color scheme mixed with pops of fresh greenery! The best part is that all of these items are perfect for mixing and matching with so many different color schemes and styles of decor, so she will be able to use them year after year. Stay tuned to see more of my Christmas tree decorating and shelf styling for this same client later next week! In the meantime, you can shop all the items used for this mantle at the end of this post!